The incident follows another crash of a Mirage 2000 during a training exercise in May. In that case the pilot also ejected safely.

In June, a technical breakdown caused the crash of a Mirage 2000 in Niger as the pilots were returning from a mission in Mali, where France has been carrying out an offensive to rid the north of an Islamist insurgency.

The Mirage 2000 is a multi-role jet fighter and mainstay of the French air force, which has more than 300 deployed.